Random Rambles: Sorry guys, bit of a boring chapter, but it's plot development and I needed to get it out in one chapter. Writer's block is threatening my right now, so bear with me orz. After this more Jae and the boys, I promise ^^;

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Ryo Miyano walked the halls of the brand-new E.T. Corp, ready for his second day to begin. Yesterday he had the opportunity to introduce himself to his colleagues and staff members, getting very little work done. He wanted to show his new team that he was a man of business, but a good leader at the same time. Being a sociable person, he took the time to get to know everyone, from the managers to the researchers, to the assistants and secretaries. He even stopped by the mail room to introduce himself to the workers there. 

Since the island reminded him a lot of Hawaii, he fitted right in and was eager to start his new position as the CEO of E.T. Corp in Hanwol. Today, he was promised a grand tour of the building and property and he'd get an insight look on all the projects they were conducting. Personally, he was excited, since the research and science department had a lot of good stuff in store. Most importantly, he was an avid supporter of ecological and green projects, something that would help maintain nature's balance without having to exhaust valuable sources. 

He was particularly interested in the solar and wind energy projects that they wanted to set up on the island, but at the moment, E.T. Corp needed to get a good standing amongst the locals since he had heard that some people protested at having a major company 'invade' their island like this. He couldn't disagree with them, he understood full well what it was like to have a big company like this on a small island, where most of the locals were fishermen, farmers or owned private businesses. Not to mention that they were accustomed to a quiet, traditional way of life, without much interference of the high-tech modern world. 

The CEO smiled, as Dong-hoon, a short, friendly man with a cheerful face, lead him around the biotech lab. 

"I take it you're familiar with what we usually do at the biotech department, Mr. Miyano," the man started, his voice naturally a bit hoarse, but cheerful nonetheless. 

"I am a bit, yes. And, please, call me Ryo. Since we'll be working together, there's really no need for such formalities," he urged to which Dong-hoon smiled pleasantly and gave a bow. 

"Yes, sir," he conceded, enthusiastically walking towards the first lab. 

"Wow, I see you've installed the iris-scanner here already," Ryo noted when Dong-hoon went to punch in the security code and looked into the camera to get the door to open. 

"Yes, we have, along with voice recognition," he smiled, putting his thumb up when a computerized voice confirmed his name and the door opened automatically. 

"Impressive," Ryo mused, feeling like he was acting in a Marvel movie, looking around at the clean environment, computers and tech surrounding them. There was a massive array of flora and fauna, with researchers in white lab coats walking around, diligently doing their work. 

"Tell me what we're doing here, Dong-hoon," Ryo prompted, letting the energetic man guide him around. 

"Ah, you'll be excited, sir," he stated, still unable to call his superior by his first name. "I'd like you to meet a young and very promising researcher; Mr. Kang," Dong-hoon motioned for a young man with blonde bangs covering his forehead to come join him and the young researcher, a little startled, quickly complied. 

When Ryo got a better look at him, he was surprised to see how young he looked. He must've come fresh out of college and for the briefest of moments, he felt a little old. The young researcher had narrow, but happy eyes, a slight crook in the bridge of his nose, but a sincere smile on his face. He bowed respectfully to Ryo, which he returned. 

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kang," Ryo greeted, shaking the nervous man's hand. "I'm eager to see what you're working on here." 

"The honor is all mine, sir," the researcher replied and quickly started showing him what he was working on. "Well, we've got quite a few projects lined up, but I think we can, uh, start with, uh, this- one..." he stammered, whilst Ryo exchanged a look with Dong-hoon, who had the same smile of amusement on his face. 

"Relax, Dee, just show Mr- I mean, Ryo, what you've been working on. Why don't you start with the security systems first?" the older man suggested and in that instant, the researcher relaxed. 

"Ah! Yes, please, follow me," he lead them into another corridor and into another laboratory. Ryo was curious about how the security systems worked, since he already received phonecalls from the local newspaper, asking him how E.T. Corp was going to help out with the recent wolf-problem. The island had quite a few of them, as it seemed, and he would like to know how the company would come up with something that could help out. 

He smiled a little when he remembered that Jae wanted to know how the systems worked because she had her suspicions that it may not have been as animal-friendly as they were promoted to be. 

"The state of the art security system has been built exclusively to safely keep unwanted animals away from personal property. Even though the materials used may not be entirely bio-degradable, the system itself is," Dee started explaining. "Allow me to demonstrate," he waited for Ryo to give the okay and he nodded at the researcher. 

The fences were put up on display and when Dee activated it, he jumped back a little at seeing puffs of smoke appear from the fences. 

"Smoke effects, huh?" Ryo prompted, looking at what they did to the nearby plants that stood there. "I can assume it's not toxic."

"Of course, sir! We wouldn't use toxic materials. The smoke is actually a scent that is being shot out that is distinctly aimed for wolves. It repels them and sends them away. Since wolves are highly territorial animals, we've created a scent to make it appear as though other wolves own the territory."

Ryo nodded as he listened to the explanation. "And I take it they're animal-friendly? What are these metal wires for?" he asked. 

"Ah, those are just precautions, in case a predatory animal would still try to pass the fences. The system is wired with a very low voltage of electricity. It shocks just enough to scare them away, but not too much to injure them," Dee said with determination. 

"You're sure about that? Why is there a net attached to some of these fences?" Ryo asked, remembering what Jae had told him. 

Dong-hoon frowned as he inspected the fence himself, whilst Dee came to take a closer look as well. Both men looked surprised and gazed at each other, stunned. Ryo's eyebrows flared up. 

"You don't know?" 

"Uh, well, to be honest, sir, this is the first time we've noticed," Dee bit his lip anxiously. 

"You're not trying to catch those creatures are you? The point is for them to stay in their territory and not kill the livelihood of the local farmers, but I don't want them to be captured or injured in any way," Ryo pointed out, not just thinking about E.T.'s name, but being genuinely concerned for the animals as well. 

"No, of course, sir, eh... these fences were recently updated by the manufacturing department, but I'll look into it," Dee immediately promised. 

"Please do. In the meantime, can we be absolutely sure that they're safe?" Ryo asked. 

"Yes, sir, completely safe," Dong-hoon assured. 

"You're sure? We've placed some of them around the island already, haven't we? I don't want it to suddenly malfunction or injure people. Is it being tested at isolated areas?"

"Yes, sir, it is. We're monitoring it every step of the way," Dong-hoon nodded. "If there happen to be any kinks in the system, we'll immediately fix it." 

"Alright, I'll trust in you to keep me updated on the progress. I hope you understand my concerns," Ryo said gently. 

"Wouldn't want the good name of E.T. Corp to ruined, sir," Dong-hoon prompted understandingly. Ryo smiled and patted the man on the shoulder. 

"Actually, I was more concerned about the system possibly injuring children playing in the woods or malfunctioning when animals go near it. My daughter told me she saw one near the woods where she walks through to get back home from school. That doesn't sound like a particularly isolated place to put it," Ryo elaborated to which Dong-hoon's mouth formed into a perfect 'o'. 

"I see. Well, Dee, you work on this system and keep us informed, won't you?" he asked, turning to the young scientist. 

"Yes, sir, as soon as possible," he promised. 

"Good job, son. Don't stress too much over it, you're doing good," Ryo added, making the young man smile gratefully.

Dong-hoon beamed himself and then cleared his throat as he gestured for them to continue the tour. "May I ask something, sir?"

"Of course," Ryo nodded, looking at the shorter man. 

"Your daughter. She's in high school?"

"Yes, she is. Eleventh grade, started yesterday," his chest swelled up with pride a little, because, hey, it was his daughter he was talking about. 

"Oh, really? I've son in tenth grade, his name is Lee. He mentioned that there was a new kid at school, but the boy is somewhat of a scatterbrain. He was talking about a male student," he chuckled. Upon hearing this and thinking back to how excited Jae had been to see her school uniform, while she usually wouldn't want to be caught dead in a skirt, all of it fell into place and he laughed. Ryo was about to continue the conversation, when a slender secretary approached them, smiling politely. 

"Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Miyano, but there is someone here to see you," she said formally, her voice sweet and clear. 

"Ah, well, is it important?" 

"Quite so, sir," she answered without elaborating. Sensing that this may be a big deal, Ryo turned to Dong-hoon, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry that we have to cut this short, Dong-hoon," he started. The shorter man gave an understanding nod of the head. 

"No problem, sir. You come and see me when you're ready to take the full tour. I understand the work of a CEO comes first," he said humbly and gave a bow to greet him before he left, whistling amicably to himself. 

"So, what is so important that it can't wait, Miss...?" Ryo adjusted his suit while waiting for the woman to reply. She gave an enigmatic smile, and it was only now that Ryo noticed her exceptional hazel green eyes. 

"Please, follow me, Mr. Miyano," she answered, turning deftly around, sashaying before him. Ryo blinked and followed her, wondering whether he should worry. It occured to him that he hadn't met her during introductions yesterday. 

"You appear to have me at a disadvantage, Miss. You know my name, but I don't believe I've ever met you. Do you work here?" he asked boldly, since he couldn't imagine forgetting people's faces so easily. 

"I work for E.T. Corp," she answered calmly. 

"But not on this island," he concluded and she turned her head slightly to look at him, the lights in the hallway giving her eyes a strange glow. 

"Very clever, Mr. Miyano," she nodded. "I work for the main branch of E.T. Corp, I'm Mr. Yok's personal assistant." 

Upon hearing the mention of the name of the founder of Extraordinary Technologies, Ryo became nervous. "Mr. Yok? He- he's here?"

The unknown woman smiled again and took him to his own office, opening the door for him. "He's ready to see you," she stated, as though he wasn't the CEO at all, but a guest.

Swallowing, Ryo buttoned his blazer and stepped into his office, his mind racing a mile a minute, trying to figure out why the ultimate head of the company would come to see him. Why wasn't he informed beforehand?

"Mr. Miyano," a deep voice sounded and Ryo looked upon a middle-aged man with neat, dark hair and black framed glasses. "How wonderful to finally be able to meet you. I do pardon the sudden intrusion. I had actually hoped to meet you here yesterday, but something came up," the founder of E.T. Corp greeted amicable, meeting Ryo halfway to give him a firm shake of the hand and a pat on the shoulder. 

"The pleasure is all mine, sir, and it's no trouble at all. I should be the one asking for forgiveness since I was not notified that you would come to visit me. Had I known, I'd given you a proper welcome, sir," Ryo spoke earnestly, while Mr. Yok chuckled.

"It's no trouble, son, I didn't want to create a fuss on this tiny island," he said, looking intently at Ryo, as though he was seizing him up. Ryo shuffled a bit uncomfortably on his feet, until Mr. Yok told him to sit down. Being humble, he sat at one of the seats in front of his desk, which made the founder laugh.

"Come now, son, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. This is my seat, you should sit behind the desk," he patted him on the shoulder and feeling slightly embarrassed, Ryo moved to his own seat. He wasn't sure how to conduct himself with the boss of all bosses and he cleared his throat.

"Have you been offered something to drink, sir? Shall I get you something?"

Mr. Yok put his hand up to silence him, the smile never leaving his face. "Don't worry about me. I'm all set. I just came by to check out the new facility and to have a little chat with you. I could immediately tell that you were a man who liked to take charge. It may only be two days as a CEO, but I've been keeping track of your progress ever since you started working for me. I'm very impressed. You put a lot of hard work and hours into the job to help E.T. move on," he complimented.

"O-oh, thank you, sir," he gave a slight bow.

"I speak sincerely, Mr. Miyano. You have the kind of idealistic vision this world needs and I believe that under you, this branch of the E.T. corporation could go far. Very far. You see, if I may be so bold to say, I look at you and I see a younger, far more selfless version of myself. You care, about this world, how to preserve it on the one hand and how to better it at the same time," Mr. Yok stated and Ryo found that the older man was a very charismatic speaker.

"How are the latest projects faring here, Mr. Miyano? I know you've only just started, but you're already handling projects that some of the older branches haven't been able to initiate just yet. What is this talk of an animal-friendly security system that is helping E.T. make a good standing with its new neighbors on the island?" Mr. Yok asked curiously and Ryo was relieved that he knew something more about that project than others.

"Yes, we're currently working hard on that, sir. It's to keep the wild and indigenous wolves of the island at bay from farm property. It's still early, but it seems to be effective," Ryo stated carefully, blurting it all out because he was nervous. It was the first time for him to meet with his superior, and to suddenly hear that the boss himself had been keeping tabs on his work was somewhat of a shock. He was thankful that the man appeared to be genuinely impressed by him, though.

"Wonderful, those will come in handy especially once they've been perfected," Mr. Yok nodded, still smiling calmly at Ryo. Then he leaned forward, tenting his fingers. "To be completely honest with you, Ryo- may I call you Ryo?" 

Ryo automatically nodded his head. 

"Ryo, you have great potential in you. You can make yourself and E.T. great as well. You see, if I may confide in you, there is another project I've been meaning to start that has the potential to change this world as we know it. This building is equipped with the finest technology E.T. has to offer today, and since yesterday, it has the finest CEO, as well. I'm thinking about handing you this particular project, counting on your discretion, of course. I don't want everyone to have access to it, which is why I trust in you to make the right choices in who will be able to work on this project and to keep it under wraps. Have I piqued your interest, Ryo?" Mr. Yok asked. 

"Very much so, sir," Ryo replied, though there was a part of him that was a little suspicious about this new project. The compliments that Mr. Yok gave him, were kind and flattering, but a bit over the top. He was barely a CEO for two days, so how could he possibly know if he'd do a good job? Still, he was unable to reject a direct offer from the founder of E.T. Corp, so he continued listening. 

"Good. Allow me to tell you a story," Mr. Yok suddenly rose from his seat and dimmed the lights. He grabbed the remote from Ryo's desk and the curved, flatscreen TV that was lowered from the ceiling. Ryo hadn't even the slightest clue that it was there, so he tried his best to hide his surprise. He blinked when he realized that he was watching an animation of Chinese paper puppetry, starring Mr. Yok as the narrator. 

"I'm sure that you've heard of many creation stories. Genesis, stories and fairy tales that aspire to explain how the world came to be. Who gave birth to the moon and the stars, to the sun in the sky? To animals? To humans? What gave life to all these things?"

"God?" Ryo answered unwittingly, Mr. Yok looking at him with a vague smile on his face. In the dimmed lights, the aura he gave off was mysterious, to say the least. 

"God indeed, but what kept things running?" Mr. Yok mused questioningly. Since Ryo figured that it was a rhetorical question, he didn't answer. Instead he frowned when the man freezed the frame at a colorful looking tree, drawn with metallic and golden colors, standing proud upon a floating platform of earth. 

"Do you know what this is, Ryo?" Mr. Yok challenged, sounding giddy. 

"A...tree, sir?" he offered, a bit confused, when Mr. Yok snapped his fingers and pointed at him. 

"Exactly. A tangible, real, existing tree," the man voiced excitedly. "Ever heard of Yggdrasil? Etz Chaim?" 

Ryo gave the man a bewildered look. "I'm not sure I follow you, sir..."

"The Tree of Life," Mr. Yok then announced as the film continued again. "There are countless of myths and legends that speak of a mystical Tree that bears great religious symbolism, but is more often than not, associated with being the source of all life. Now, before you question me, hear me out. The Tree of Life is a myth, a fairy tale, it isn't real. But what if we make it real?" Mr. Yok looked absolutely serious as he was talking and Ryo wasn't sure what to make of it. Tree of Life? What? Mr. Yok pushed his cheek towards the screen again when the animation showed a dagger, within its handle was a seed, shaped like a heart. 

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to create a natural source of energy that takes care of everything living without exhausting Mother Earth? Imagine being able to replace all energy with one power source that never runs out. Impossible, you say? Crazy, you exclaim? I'm here to tell you that it's possible," Mr. Yok whispered now, waiting for Ryo to respond, except that the man didn't know how. Was his superior being serious? Or was this an elaborate prank to haze the new CEO?

"What if I told you that I am currently in the possession of something so extraordinary that the world has never seen before? A new discovery that is in our hands, in the hands not of moneymakers, but of visionaries, idealists," Mr. Yok continued passionately, pointing at the screen. "I'm talking about this," he stated, pointing at the dagger, the heart-shaped seed in particular. "This may look like an ordinary weapon, but you'll never believe that it isn't. I was curious about this object because, as you can see, it's not an everyday item. Just for the heck of it, I studied it, tested it, and did you know what I found?"

No, but I can guess what you lost- your sanity... Ryo thought quietly to himself, forcing a smile on his face whilst shaking his head. 

"The strangest gene mutation with unknown properties unlike we've ever seen before on this planet," he exclaimed. "That object is not only foreign- it's alive." Mr. Yok disclosed quietly for extra dramatic effect. He then pressed another button on the remote and the window shades went down, making the office completely dark. Ryo made a note to remember that button and to familiarize himself with his office a lot more, when he leaned back in his seat upon seeing Mr. Yok approaching him steadily. The man reached into his inner pocket and grabbed a velvet cloth. When he removed it, he placed it in front of Ryo on the desk with utmost care.

Ryo's eyes widened when he saw the dagger he had only seen on the TV, the real thing far more impressive and beautiful than it had been in animation form. Unable to withstand the way it shimmered, he carefully reached out his hand to touch the heart-shaped seed at the tip of the hilt. He jolted back when the seed actually glowed when he came near, as though it was reacting to his warmth, and he felt a light jolt on his fingertips.

"It's b with energy. You can feel it, as well, can't you?" Mr. Yok stated, grabbing the dagger with the velvet cloth again, before handing it to Ryo.

"Sir?" he asked, a little startled.

"I want you to study this. Research it. Find out what materials it's made of, why it reacts to warmth, how it reacts, how it works. I've sent the data to your tablet. It contains a fascinating mutation that regenerates used energy, but for the life of me, I don't know how it works, how it does it. And then, I want you to find a way to turn it into energy that we can use. This is a rare opportunity, Ryo. A great chance to better this world, and I trust this to you."

The dagger felt heavy in his hands and he pondered for a moment to ask whether Mr. Yok was joking or not. 

"Are you up for the task, son?"

The question felt like a heavy burden all of a sudden. "To be perfectly honest, sir, I'm not sure," he looked at the dagger in his hand. "You believe this contains an energy source that is infinite, and that we can create it?" 

"I don't only believe it, Ryo, I believe it to be true. Research it. Have only your finest and best scientists working on this and report to me regularly. I have what you may call a great instinct. I'm never wrong." 

Something in the founder's eyes made Ryo believe his words. Why would he try to fool me? 

"You can do this, son," Mr. Yok suddenly answered and paused the TV. "Miss Kumiho will be my liaison, check up on the progress from time to time," he stated, overwhelming Ryo completely. 

"Oh- ah, y-yes, I see..." he muttered, watching his superior head towards the door. "Eh, wait, sir, excuse me, may I ask you one question?" he stopped him. Mr. Yok turned around and simply waited for him to ask it. "Where did you find this?" he gestured at the dagger. 

Mr. Yok gave an enigmatic smile, eerily similar to the one Miss Kumiho smiled. "I was outside one night, just enjoying watching the stars," he started. "Then, out of the blue, I caught one falling. Curious, I thought it would be fun to calculate its trajectory and see if I was right about its landing spot," he chuckled when Ryo pulled a confused face. "Yes, it fell to the earth, Ryo. I thought it was a small meteorite of some sort, but when I came to the landing site, I found a small crater, with this lodged inside of a round rock." He laughed and shrugged. "Perhaps it was a prank, but I highly doubt that. Who knows, perhaps it was a message sent to us from another planet." 

Ryo's mouth stood agape as he watched his superior give one final wink and turned around. His hand raised to signal a goodbye, he only said, "Don't disappoint me, Ryo. I expect great things from you," and he was gone. Still stunned, Ryo removed the velvet cloth slowly, wondering to himself whether that actually happened and in what kind of situation he was suddenly placed in. He dropped the dagger when it glowed again, but this time, the blade of the dagger revealed symbols he was sure weren't there before. Picking it up carefully, Ryo inspected the warm blade with trembling fingers. Eleven, twelve, thirteen. Thirteen symbols.

He walked to his desk and sat down in his leather chair. When he went to look at the symbols again, they had vanished without a trace, causing Ryo to drop the dagger again and push his chair back. 

Alive, huh?